A 54-year-old Utah man, Brian Garry Sewell, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for wire fraud and running an unlicensed cash-to-crypto business in Washington County. A Justice Department statement said he also faces three years of supervised release and ordered more than $3.8 million in restitution.
The sentence will run concurrently with a separate three-year term tied to an unlicensed money-transmitting case, the department added. Victim restitution and a payment to the Department of Homeland Security are included in the combined amount.
Prosecutors say Sewell misled at least 17 investors and caused roughly $2.9 million in losses between December 2017 and April 2024. Court records show he initially pleaded not guilty after the indictments and later pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
His unlicensed transmission conduct traces to an earlier federal case alleging a cash-to-crypto scheme in Washington County. That prior action, described in an earlier IRS indictment, said his business, Rockwell Capital Management, moved about $5.4 million.
Special Agent Robert Bohls of the Salt Lake City FBI said in a statement, “Sewell preyed on his victims by lying about his experience and promising returns he could not deliver, leaving individuals and families to bear the consequences of his deception.” Legal analysts noted the parallel charges secure convictions when retail-level crypto fraud occurs (Ed. note: prosecutors treated the unlicensed transmission count as a separate enforcement tool).
